Practice in brainstorming writing activates
Context: For this brainstorming activity, we will be looking into creative non-fiction writing in the form of a coming to age narrative. This genre would be good for students in 10th-11th grade, to get them comfortable about practicing the writing process. The goal for this project, would be for students to use the writing process and skills they have accumulated thus far, as a way to reflect on their life, and to communicate how they understood a life changing event.
Genre: Creative non-fiction essay
Criteria:
Students should be able to identify and make use of clear POV in their writing
Students should be able to form a complete narrative, using basic plot structure
Students should be able to apply literary devices to convey meaning to a factually accurate narrative
Activates that will aid in success:
Understanding the Genre: Students read example essays, and identify characteristics of this genre.
Understanding your topic: Once students have narrowed down their topic ideas, have them outline the factual event itself without adding any of the literary devices.
Incorporating Literary Devices Lesson: students come up with ways to creatively explain a fact or event from a list of different literary devices
Workshop practice: Once a draft is written, have students work in groups and give each other feedback based on their reactions and understandings of each others work.
Provide a mini lesson based on classrooms overall progress: After reading a few drafts, patters can appear based on common mistakes students are making. Create a mini lesson based on these mistakes to help students understand where they can improve their work.
Potential Difficulties:
Students may have a hard time coming up with a topic
Students who are used to writing analytically, may be uncomfortable writing creatively.
Students may have not understand how to format different forms of creative writing.
Addressing Difficulties: For students who are having difficulties coming up with a topic relating to their own coming of age story, it will be important that this narrative could be anything from learning to cook, drive to being the eldest of their siblings. It could be a time they handled an emergency, or they moved away. Sometimes students think they might not have anything to write about because their life is “boring” and it’s important to acknowledge that there are multiple things any one student could write about.
